Hungry Ghost Bread vs. Mimmo’s Pizza

Welcome to week 6 of our Northampton pizza challenge! This is our second round 2 contest, and we actually ended up going a bit out of our anticipated order. Today we got pizzas from Hungry Ghost Bread on State Street and Mimmo’s Pizza (which beat Roberto’s to get into round 2) on Pleasant Street, instead of Pinnochio’s and Pizza Amore. We’ve also decided on a rule change. Instead of the winner being chosen by total number of votes, the winner will be decided on which place won the most categories, and then using the total number of votes as a tie breaker. We feel like this provides a more accurate measure of which pizza is better. Whereas with the old method you one category could get all the votes and lose the other categories, this new method seems a bit more correct for our purposes.

Here are our current standings:

Hungry Ghost Bread

Rising above the ashes like a phoenix, Hungry Ghost Bread.

Hungry Ghost is known for their bread, but they’d like you to know they also make pizza! Their pizza option usually becomes available after around 5:30PM so you won’t be able to satisfy your lunch cravings here. However, with the quality of the bread that they usually deliver, we were all excited to see what this crust would be like. If you’ve bought their bread, then you can pretty much guess the pizza experience. Mostly, you walk in, smell the amazing smells, maybe try a sample of what’s on the counter, then head on out with some delicious food.

Mimmo’s Pizza

Good ole Mimmo’s

Mimmo’s hasn’t changed much since our week 3 review, so if you’re curious, check out my comments from then. It continues to be a very bare-bones and slightly sketchy experience, but you will enjoy the end result once you get it home.

The Pizza

This week we decided to go with a spinach and pepperoni pie, which ended up giving us plenty to discuss.

Hungry Ghost on the left (~$15), Mimmo’s on the right (~$18)

As you can see, the Mimmo’s pizza absolutely dwarfs the one from Hungry Ghost. It’s impossible to compete on quantity with Mimmo’s, so quality is Hungry Ghost’s only chance. The interesting thing about the Hungry Ghost pie is that they cook an egg on top and include ricotta and garlic cloves. I didn’t ask for this, so I’m assuming they put it on all pizzas, but this got a mixed reaction from our crowd.

Crust

You would think that Hungry Ghost would walk away with this category no question, but the crust that Mimmo’s delivers holds up. Both crusts had a great chewy texture, with Hungry Ghost having more of a crunch. Both crusts had great flavor as well, with just the right amount of salt and a hint a garlic. However, in our larger than usual group of nine, Mimmo’s just barely edged out Hungry Ghost on it’s perfect chewiness.

Winner: Mimmo’s Pizza

Toppings

The quality difference of the toppings is easily visible. You’ve got whole cloves of garlic on the Hungry Ghost pie, fresh ricotta, and of course that egg. Some people loved these things, and some thought they had no place on a pizza. However, on the whole, most in our group were enamored with the quality of the toppings on the Hungry Ghost pie, and on that strength alone it cruised to an easy victory in this category. The only downside of all this quality was a lack of quantity. Indeed, every bite of each Mimmo’s slice contained a heaping mouthful of spinach and pepperoni, which was well flavored if not extraordinary. Then you had the pepperoni on the Hungry Ghost, or lack thereof. Seriously, I think I had maybe one pepperoni on the slice I had. Maybe next time put on a little more pepperoni (which I asked for) and less eggs and ricotta (which I didn’t).

Winner: Hungry Ghost Bread

Flavor

This turned out to be fairly tight and pretty much split our group. While the quality of the Hungry Ghost toppings was superior, the flavors were all over the place. You had egg, garlic, ricotta, spinach, and (some) pepperoni, and while for some people that was a good thing, for others they wanted a more traditional American pizza flavor. In some ways I think the people who voted for Mimmo’s were more voting against Hungry Ghost, finding it more challenging to enjoy. However, the Mimmo’s pizza was no slouch. The sauce has a bright flavor and the pepperoni is abundant and spicy, and the crust well seasoned.

Winner: Mimmo’s Pizza

Final Thoughts

You could say that Mimmo’s is like a pop-pizza. It is straightforward and satisfying in a way that pizza lovers broadly can enjoy. It might not have the depth and adventure that Hungry Ghost does, but that is why it is popular. Look, both of these pizzas are delicious, and this was one of the closest challenges yet in terms of total votes. If you’re looking for a classic American pie, then Mimmo’s will deliver. However, if you’re looking for something new and interesting definitely give Hungry Ghost a try.